Edgek-trimming machine



sept 8, 1925.

H. F. GRU MAN EDGE TRIMMING MACHINE Filed April 21. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet l gwu'anto'n Sept. 8, 1925. 1,553,040 H. F. GRUMAN mm: 'ramlme momma Filed April 21. 1924 3 ShOOtD-SIIOO 2 Jv ymmtol flp raaefi'gramag Sept. "s, 1925,

' H. F. GRUMAN EDGE TRIMMING MACHINE Filed p il 1924 asheets-shm 3.

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Patented Sept. 8, 1925.

PATENT creme.

Home German, r ST; v isnissovm, ASSIGNOB o LEWIS INYIsIB QE Swen MACHINE s or si u s MISSOURI, CORPORATION OF MAINE- EDGE-TRIMMING miseries.

Application filerl' April 21, 19214. Serial N:o'. 707,901.

To all (10 711cm it may 0071667'71;

Be it known that I, HORACE; F. GRUMAN,

citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented vcertain new and useful Improvements 1n Edge-Tlrinnning Machines, of which the fol-v lowing, is a specification.

This invention relates to new improveinentsin edge trimming machines g'ren'emlly,- although more particularly to a machine for trimming the surplus fabric lying beyond the scollops of embroidery stitches.

In the prior art,VSuch as is shown in the U. S. patent to WVe'st, 331,015, dated Novlemiher-24,1885, provisionismade for mechanically feeding a long narrow fabric strip having a previously. formedline of embroidery scollops stitched thereon, passed a cutter which rotates about a horizontal axis. In this patent, no provision whatsoever made for trimming the surplus stock of wide fabrics or for trimming the surplus stool: from the bottoms of wash skirts, petticoats, etc, which have previously been formed with a line of scolloped embroidery stitches. In trimming this surplus stock from ,previous lymade up garments, it is necessary to hand feed the garmentpast'the cutter because mechanical. feeding means cannot betaclapted for this-class of work owing to the irregular sizes of the garments as well as the irregular sizes :Ofwtllfi scollops and the inherent flexibility of :the material. In the iVest patent above noted, the rotary cutter is exposed to the operator and is Furthertherefore exceedingly dangerous. more, in this patent construction the trimmed off pieces of fabric or lint, necessarily pile up in and around the cutter and consequently tend toqchoke the latter and thereby impair its efiicijency.

In my copend'ing application Ser. No. 68t,755 filed January 7, 1924', I have illustrated an edge trimming machine which is' especially adapted for use in trimming the surplus stock beyond a line of scollop embroidery' stitches from previously formed gar'ments- In this machine there is provided a horizontally disposed work support arranged in front of the cutter, and cooperating with this Work support is a horizontally disposed foot device which together.

with the work support form a horizontally and useful disposedguiding channel for the Work. Fixed to foot device is a depending guard which is positioned in'rear of the embroidery stitches so as to limit the movement of said Work towards the cutter. Means are provided for vertically adjusting the foot device and for retaining the same in any predetermined "position of adjustment. Therefore vhen this foot device is adjusted vertical-1y so as toposition the foot device a distance above the work support whereby the body fabric including theli-ne of embroi' dery soollops may be freely hand fed past thecutter without any drag, theguard will,

necessarily becorrespondingly adjusted yer tleall-y, 'Theretore, if a garment is provided wltlr thick embroidery stitches it becomes necessary toueleva'te the foot device and in so doing theguard is elevated above the body fabric. This allows the marginal portion inrear ofthe line of scol lopsxto be freely movable not only horizontally but also vertically. In other words the guard does not retain-thetrimmed edge portion in a positive position while the trimmer is functioning The flexibility of this trimmed edge portion isnsuch that when the operator feeds the garment laterally past the cutter, said trimmed edge portion will, with certain materials, becau'sed by the rotation of the cutter to be projected downwardly betweenthe cutter and thesta-tionary trimmer blade. trimmed edge portion being squeezed between the cutter and the stationary trimmingibla-de and consequently the, marginal portion ofthe garment will not be trimmed.

One of the principal objectsof my present invention, is, therefore, to provide an edge trimming machine of the general type described in my ,copend-ing application above mentioned,- in which the foot device and the guard are supported for independent V61? tical adjustment whereby the trimmer will function regardless of the character of materialhoflthe body fabric orqregard-less of the thickness of the embroidery scollopsa Another'object ofthe invention is to providea foot device ofthe character described which is mounted for free float-movements verticailly whereby said device will be automatically-adjusted through its engagement by the embroidery scollfops.

Another important ojbjjecto-f the invention This condition results in the is to provide a guard and means for positively adjusting the same vertically independent of the foot device and for retaining said guard in any predetermined position of adjustment. V

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character described in which the housing for the cutteris provided 'Wltll a closure element for permitting ready end elevation view taken in the plane of the cutter.

I scollop, and

guard.

Similar reierence characters designate cor-- Figure 5 'is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the relative positions of the foot device and guard,and bodyfabric.

Figure 6 is a similar viewbut showinga body fabric of different weight and having an embroidery scollop of different thickness, the foot device and the guard being'shown in adjusted positions corresponding to the weight of material and thickness of the Figurc'7'is a detail horizontal sectional view taken above the foot device and showing the construction for permitting the relative adjustment of the foot device and respondin parts throughout the several figures of thedrawings.

ferring to the drawings, my invention comprises a frame 5 having a base fi-and joiirnalcd within the frame is a horizontally disposed drivingshaft 'r'. The shaft 7 ex tends beyond the right 'hand'end of the frame and attached to this projecting end is apulley wheel 8. The left hand end of the frame 5 is-cast with a housing-9 forming a compartment-10. The left hand end ofthe shaft 7 extends into this compartment and fixed to said projecting end of the shaft is a rotary cutter 11. The housing 9 is cast with an 'openfron't end and with an open left side.

The front end of the housing is closed by a plate 12, the left hand portion thereof extending beyond the side opening of the housing as indicated at 13in Fig. '1. The open side of the housin'g'is closed by a plate 14 which is pivoted atone side to said housing by means of a pin 15 so as'to permit the closure plateto be swung to and fro about a vertical axis. This plate fits in rear of the projecting portion 13 ofthe front plate 12 and a spring latch 14* of any suitable construction is carried by the closure plate 14 for cooperation with the front plate12 so as to secure said closure plate in its closed position.

Integral with the housing 9 is a rearwardly extending nipple 16, the longitudinal axis thereof being disposed in a horizontal plane and arranged at a tangent to a circle having for its centerthe longitudinal axis of the shaft 7. The nipple 16 communicates with the interior of the housing and is located in a plane below the plane containing the axis of the shaft 7. This nipple and housing are cast together and the nipple is therefore independent of the lclosure plate 14. This creates a construction which is capable of being readily cast.

The rotary cutter 11 is formed with a plurality of peripheral teeth17. The side walls 18-18 converging outwardly to form resultant points 19. Each tooth includes a front face 20 and a rear face 21. The front face 20 of each tooth lies in a plane tangent to a circle,-the axis of which is coincident with the axis of'the cutter shaft 7 that is, this face extends inwardly from the point of the tooth in aplane inclined to a radial plane of the cutter. In this particular instance, the front face 20 of each tooth is also disposed in a plane parallel to the axis of the cutter whereby both cutting edges of the given t-cothwill be disposed in the same plane relative'to the horizontal. The body of the cutter 11 .is formed with inclined'sides 2222 which merge with and are disposed in the planes of the respective converging side faces of the teeth.

' The front plate 12 is secured to the housing by screws 23 and this plate is formed with an opening 24: to receive the cutter teeth 17 which project therethrough and in adsupporting surface is disposed in a plane substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of the driving shaft 7. This work support 25 includes a stationary cutting blade 27 which is seated within a slot whereby the upper surface of said stationary blade is flush with the upper surface of the work support. This blade is disposed in advance of the cutter 11 and is adjustable towards and fromsaid cutter through the medium of an adjusting screw 28. The rear end of the stationary blade 27 is formed with a V- shaped notch 29 which corresponds in shape and size to the \l-shaped teeth 17 of the cutter. The walls of the notch 29 are undercut so as to form sharp cutting edges 30. The outer ends of the walls 29 29 extend rearwardly of the teeth 17 to engage and cooperate with the inclined sides 22 of the cutter to retain the cutter teeth in proper and definite relation with the cutting. edges of the stationary blade, especially if loose play is developed in the shaft 7.

The inner face of the bracket 26- is re cessed as at 31 to receive the teeth 1 7 of the cutter, and this recess also forms a chute for directing the trimmed off material from the point of cutting into the compartment 10 of the housing. This bracket is also formed with an air inlet port 32.-

Thus during the rotation of the cutter 11, the teeth 17 thereof will be presented in rapid succession for cooperation with the cutting edges 30 of the stationary cutter. As a given tooth approachesthe stationary cutting edges 30, the inner'end of the tooth, viz: the juncture 17 will first meet said stationary cutting edges and the cutting edges of the tooth will thensimultaneously cooperate progressively with the stationary cutting edges to form what is known as a shearing out, the cut beginning at the inner end of the tooth and terminating at the outer end or point thereof. Thus'when the tooth begins its cutting operation the front face 20 and consequently the cutting edges thereof, is in a plane inclined to 'the horizontal, the plane extending upwardly and forwardly, that is rearwardly relative to the direction of the rotation of the cutter.

In practice a fabric F such as a shirt, petticoat'or other garment is previously pro vided with a line of scolloped embroidery stitches S adjacent one edge thereof, and the surplus or marginal material f lying beyond and in rear of the line of embroidery stitches is trimmed off by passing the fabric across the work support 25 in cooperative relation to the cutter 11. 1

In order to prevent the cutter from trimming the embroidery scoll'ops', I have provided a vertically adjustableguard' which is disposed in front of the cutter. This guard is formed with V-shaped recess 3'4, and the lower edge 3'5pof this guard} is disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, that is, the edge is arranged in a plane parallel to the upper surface of the stationary trimmer blade 27'. Therecess' 34- forms a resultant narrow section 36-at the forward lower portion of the guard. This section 36 is of such thinness as to permit the cutter teeth 17 to trim the marginal portion f of the fabric close to the scollops S. This guard is adjustable vertically so as to. permit the marginal portion f of a given fabric to pass thereunder without any drag. It is necessary, however, to prevent this marginal portion from having any appreciable amount of vertical play. In other words it is necessary toretai'n the marginal ed-g'e por tion f in a substantially fixed horizontal plane during the trimming operation so as to prevent the marginal trimmed edge portion of the fabric from being crowded downwardly between the teeth of the cut t er and the stationary cutting blade. be readily understood by those skilled in the art that should the marginal edge portion be thus forced downwardly between the cutter and the stationary blade, the fabric will be squeezed .therebetween and will not be out In order, therefore, to provide means for adjusting the vertical position of the guard and also for retaining the guard in a predetermined iosition of adjustment, I have provided a rearwardly extending manually controlled lever 3'? and have fill-- crumed the same as at 38 upon the top of the housing 9, the longitudinal axis of the pivot 38 being parallel with the shaft '2'. T he forward end of the lever 37 extends to a point in advance of the front plate 12 and a link 8.9 is pivotally connected at its upper end as at -10 to the forward end of the lever and at its lower .end as at ii to the upper end of the guard The guard is guided in its vertical adjustment by means of guides 42 42 which are secured to the front plate 12. A spring 43 is disposed between the honsing9 and the rear end of the lever and serves to yieldably urge the guard 33 downwardly against the work support 25. The lowermost position of the guard 34 may lie-adjusted by means of a screw 44- which is carried by the forward portion of the lever 37 and engagesthe top of the housing '9. Thus by manipulating the screw 44 in an anti-clockwise direction the guard 83 will be lowered under the action of the: spring 43 and by turning: the screw 44 in a clock-wise direction the guard 33 will be elevated against thetension= of the spring 43. r

In order to control the fabric relative to the cutter 11 while .the fabric is being ied by hand past the cutter, I have provided a foot device which I have designated as a whole by the reference numeral 45. This foot device is disposed in frontof the cutter and extends in a horizontal plane in ad- Vance of the guard 33. This foot cooperates with the work support 25 to form therebetween a guiding channel 46 i for the fabric while the latter is being hand fed past the cutter. This footdevice 4.5'is prow' ided witlr a pair of spaced upwardly extending guide arms 4e6-46 which have sliding on: gagement with vertically disposed guide channels l7417 formed in the guard Thus the foot device 45 is adapted to be moved vertically relative to the guard or. the guard 33- is adapted to be moved vertically relative to the foot device 4-.5. This foot device has a floating action, that is, it is capable of automatically adiusting the horizontal position thereof upon being engaged by embroidery scoliops of different thicknesses. The weight of the foot device issuc'h as to permit the'ready hand feeding It will of the body fabric thereunder and yet sufficient to retain the fabric in a horizontal plane during the passage thereof past the cutter. The presser foot device 45 is pro vided with a transparent body portion 48 by means of which the operator may visualize the point of work. In trimming the surplus material fyit is necessary for the operator to move the body fabric from right to left or vice versa past the cutter, and at the same time to move the body fabric in and out, thatis, towards and from the cutter so as to permit the point of the latter to follow the curves of the scollops S. Through the medium of the transparent body portion 48 of the foot device the operator may readily visualize the point of work and thereby trim said marginal edge portion f closely against the line of scollops S The cutter 11 is rotated at the rate of approximately 1800 R. P. M. and consequently the trimmed off material will be more in the If this fuzzy material were not carried away the operator would be compelled to breathe the same. Furthermore, thislint or fuzzy material would quickly clog the teeth of the cutter and thereby cause it to cease functioning. I have, therefore, provided means for withdrawing this trimmed ofi' fuzzy-like material to a point removed from the operator. To this end I have provided a suction fan 49 which is disposed in parallel relation with the shaft 7 of the trimming machine andis driven from the latter by means of the belt 50. The suction fan 49 is provided with the usual casing including an inlet 51 and an outlet 52. The inlet 51 is disposed in 'align ment with the nipple 16 of the trimming machine and a flexible tubular coupling 53 is connected therebetween; .The suction fan thus draws air through the inlet port 32 into the housing 10 and thence out through the nipple 16 and coupling 53 to suction fan 49.

In factory systems garments are arranged in lots and these lots are divided into bundles. The garments in a particular lot are of the same weight and conse quently it is only necessary to initially adjust the machine in order to take care of all of the garments of a particular lot W'hen, however, a lot is to be trimmed and this lot varies in weight or texture from the previously trimmed lot, the guard 33 is adjusted vertically by the screw 44 so that the lower edge 35 thereof will be positioned in proper relation to the marginal edge portion of the fabric whereby the latter will be retained in a positive posit-ion while the trimmer is functioning. The presser foot device 45, will, of course, automatically position itself on the scollops S. Thus I haveprovided a foot device and a guard which are independently adjustable whereby garments of different weights may be readily trimmed without any danger of the trimmed edgeportion becoming squeezed between the cutter and the stationary trimmer blade. r

IVithout further description it is thought that the .many features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent and it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an embroidery edge trimming machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotary cutter journaled on a horizontal axis on said frame, a horizontally-disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade arranged in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, an embroidery-engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work'support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, and a horizontally disposed foot device adjustable vertically independent of said guard and arranged in advance of the guard to form with the work support a horizontal guiding chan-,

nel for the body fabric, said foot device being adjustable vertically relative to said guard through the engagement by the embroidery'when the body fabric is passing through said guiding channel.

2. In an embroidery edge trimming machine, the coinbination with a frame, of a rotary cutter journaled on a horizontal axis on said frame and having a plurality of peripheral V-shaped cutting teeth, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary blade disposed in advance of said cutter, said blade being formed with a V- shaped notch for receiving the teeth of the cutter and forming a resultant cutting edge for cooperation with the teeth of the cutter, an embroidery-engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, said guard being V-shaped in cross-section to receive the cutting teeth, and a horizontally disposed foot device adjustable vertically independent of said guard and arranged in advance of said guard to form with the work support a horizontal guiding channel for the body fabric, said foot device having a V-shaped notch to receive said guard. v

8. In an embroidery edge trimming machine, the combination with a frame, of'a rotary cutter ournaled on a horizontal axis on said frame, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade arranged in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, an embroidery-engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, said guardbeing provided with a pair of spaced verti'cally extending guide ways, and a hori zon'tal ly disposed foot device adjustable vertica'lly independentof said guard and arranged in advance of the guard to form with the Work support a horizontal guiding channel for the body fabric, said foot device being provided with a pair of spaced upwardly extending guide arms having sli'dable connection with said guide ways of the giiard.

4. In an embroidery edge trimming machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotary cutter journaled on a horizontal axis on said frame, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade arranged in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, a vertically adjustable embroidery engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support tolimit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, a horizontally disposed foot device adjustable vertically independent of said guard and arranged in advance of the guard to form with the work support a horizontal guide channel for the body fabric, and means including a lever for adjusting the vertical position of the guard relative to said work support and to said foot device.

5. In an embroidery edge trimming machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotary cutter journaled on a horizontal axis on said frame, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade arranged in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, a vertically adjustable embroidery engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, a horizontally disposed foot device adjustable vertically independent of said guard and arranged in advance of the guard to form with the work support a horizontal guide channel for the body fabric, means including a lever for adjusting the vertical position of the guard relative to said work support and to said foot device, a spring for yieldably urging the guard downwardly, and an adjusting screw cooperating with the lever and frame to variably limit the lowermost position of said guard.

6. In an embroidery edge trimming machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotary cutter journaled on a horizontal axis on' said frame, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade disposed in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, a vertically adjustable embroidery engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, and a horizontally disposed foot device arranged in advance of the guard to form with the work support a horizontal guiding channel for the body fabric, saidfoot device being automatically adjusted vertically relative to said guard through engagement by the embroidery when the body fabric is parsingthrough said guiding channel.

i. In" an embroidery edge trimming machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotary cutter journaled on a horizontal axis on said frame, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade disposed in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, a vertically adjust able embroidery engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, a horizontally disposed foot device arranged in advance of the guard to form with the work support a horizontal guiding channel for the body fabric, said foot device being automatically adjusted vertically relative to said guard through engagement by the embroidery when the body fabric is passing through said guiding channel, and means including a lever for adjusting the vertical position of the guard relative to said work support and to said foot device.

8. In an embroidery edge trimming machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotary cutter ournaled on a horizontal axis on said frame, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade I disposed in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, a vertically adjust- .able embroidery engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, a horizontally disposed foot device arranged in advance of the guard to form with the work support a horizontal guiding channel for the body fabric, said foot device being automatically adjusted. vertically relative to said guard through engagement by the embroidery when the body fabric is passing through said guiding channel, a spring for yieldably urging the guard downwardly, and an adjusting screw cooperating with the lever and frame to variably limit the lowermost position of said guard.

9. In an embroidery edge trimming .machine, the combination with a frame, of a rotary cutter ournaled on a horizontal axis on said frame, a horizontally disposed work support including a stationary cutting blade disposed in advance of and in cooperative relation to said cutter, an embroidery engaging guard mounted on the frame above the work support to limit the movement of the fabric towards the cutter, said guard being provided with a pair of spaced vertically extending guide ways, and a horizontally disposed foot device arranged in advance of the guard to form was the work support shaft journaled in said frame and project ing nto said housing, a cutter fixed to said shaft and disposed in sa1d housing, a closure cap for the outer end of said housing, and.

a rearwardly extendingexhaust nipple connected to the housing and communicating with the interior thereof below the axis of the cutter, said nipple being independent of said closure cap.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature HORACE F. GRUMAN. 

